Esch on Board with Bipartisan Energy Legislation
Aug 01, 09:21 AM CST
JIM ESCH FOR CONGRESS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2008
Contact: Joe Sibilia
(402) 677-5697
joe@jimesch.org
National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act attracts support from a group of 23 bipartisan Representatives
OMAHA, Neb. – Jim Esch, candidate for Nebraska’s second congressional district, supports the National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act released Monday, July 28 sponsored by Congressmen Neil Abercrombie (D-HI-1) and John Peterson (R-PA-5).
“It’s a comprehensive bill and it addresses the energy issue head on,” Esch said “This is a piece of legislation that both parties can be proud of and meets the demands of the American people, much like I have proposed in my EASI plan.”
Abercrombie and Peterson led a group of Republican and Democratic Members of Congress through the process of putting together a package of legislation to address the country’s short term and long term energy needs. The group worked quietly over the last month to put together a bill that everyone in the group – Democrat or Republican- could agree on.
“This addresses both the short term and long term energy needs of this country,” Esch said. “It focuses on conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy research, and environmental restoration.”
“Representatives Abercrombie and Peterson got it right. They worked across party lines, explored all options, and devised a plan that encompasses both Democratic ideas and Republican ideas for American solutions,” Esch said. “My opponent is supporting a partisan plan that is all about politics and not about solutions.”
The National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act:
- Mandates the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which can slightly reduce the current price of oil;
- Extends tax incentives for renewable energy production from wind, solar and geothermal and other sources, and creates a new incentive for plug-in hybrid automobile;
- Reduces the $700 billion per year the U.S. is exporting to other countries to buy oil;
- Takes a major step toward U.S. energy independence by opening the Outer Continental Shelf 25 miles or more from the coastline to “Over the Horizon” oil and natural gas production for domestic use only; and
- Provides the first stable, designated funding source for the development of alternative fuels, renewable energy and environmental restoration by allocating the estimated $2.6 trillion in oil royalties from oil and gas production in the Outer Continental Shelf as follows:
30% to the U.S. Treasury;
30% to the adjacent State;
8% to the Conservation Reserve created by this Act;
10% to the Environment Restoration Reserve Fund created by this Act;
15 % to the Renewable Energy Reserve Fund created by this Act;
5% to the Carbon Capture/Sequestration and Nuclear Waste Reserve Fund created by this Act;
2% to the Lower Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
More on the Web:
http://www.house.gov/list/speech/hi01_abercrombie/nb08_energy_workinggroup_announcement.shtml
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